Want to Go Viral? Here's How to Retouch a Portrait Like That Internet Sensation

Unless you've been completely off Internet for the past 24 hours, you'll have already seen the amazingly unique retouching skills of a portrait photographer in Missouri. While there is speculation on whether this is real or some kind of publicity stunt, one thing is clear: the photos are hilarious. Someone was bound to create a how-to at some stage, and thankfully, one of our favorite YouTube Photoshop wizards, Antti Karppinen, was quick on the draw. Pun intended.

Karppinen's tone at the start of the video borders between incredulity and his usual deadpan delivery, as he quickly summarizes why he is about to step undertake this technique. From drawing outlines with a black brush around the eyes, lips, and teeth (yes, I know) to evening the skin tones too much with the Mixer Brush that the poor man in the photo looks like your typical out-of-focus footage of Bigfoot, Karppinen takes us on a surreal journey. At the end of the video, he probably rightly surmises that this is going to be a bit of a trend for a while and again plays devil's advocate by asking the viewer if they think the photos are real or a hoax. So, while I'm off to watch the video again and ruin some of my own family portraits, why don't you let us know in the comments below what you think of the video and this whole situation. Real or fake?

Mike is a landscape and commercial photographer from, Co. Kerry, Ireland. In his photographic work, Mike tries to avoid conveying his sense of existential dread, while at the same time writing about his sense of existential dread. The last time he was in New York he was mugged, and he insists on telling that to every person he meets.

Woah woah woah buddy, the photographer charged $250 for the work she delivered. That’s a professional fee. We are not laughing a a little
Girls dance routine, this is by far the most outlandish product delivery of all time and you are talking about “cyber bullying” like it even relates. If you can’t take criticism as a professional artist then what’s the point. It’s not like this was personal work she delivered this to a paying customer who then shared it obviously because it was absolutely insane.

This YouTuber really dropped the ball here. There's no possible way the photographer created any layers let alone used a color correction one. Come on Fstoppers - can we get an accurate tutorial on this technique?